protest-continues-on-3rd-day-against-vaishno-devi-ropeway

On Sunday, hundreds of shopkeepers and labourers took part in a protest rally on the third day of their strike against a proposed ropeway project near the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district. 

The protesters also staged a sit-in outside the office of the subdivisional magistrate and Shalimar Park in Katra town, the base camp for pilgrims visiting the shrine. 

They raised slogans against the shrine board and the ropeway project, which they believe will leave them jobless.

The three-day strike began on Friday after the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board announced plans to move forward with a Rs 250-crore passenger ropeway project, which will run from Tarakote Marg to Sanji Chhat along a 12-kilometer track.

The protesters held a peaceful rally along the traditional trek route, demanding that the project be cancelled or that proper rehabilitation plans be made for the families who will be affected. 

Most private shops along the trek route remained closed for the third day, and pony and palanquin owners stopped providing services to pilgrims, causing inconvenience to many devotees, though the pilgrimage itself continued without major disruption.

Manish Sahni, the Jammu and Kashmir chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), joined the protest, supporting the demand. He said the ropeway project would hurt the religious sentiments of Hindu devotees and negatively impact laborers who provide services to the pilgrims.

Sonu, one of the protest leaders, stated that the three-day protest would end with a sit-in outside the shrine board’s office. Future actions would be planned after this sit-in.

Congress leader and laborers' union president Bhupinder Singh Jamwal echoed the demand for a rehabilitation plan for the affected workers, suggesting financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh for each laborer.

The ropeway project was announced last week by the shrine board to provide a safer and faster way for pilgrims to reach the shrine. Anshul Garg, the CEO of the shrine board, said the project would be a major improvement for those who find it difficult to make the steep trek. 

However, similar protests in the past had led to the suspension of the project.